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Category talk:Pre-Alpha
Pre-Alpha but still in the game? I think this category should include articles that concern Pre-Alpha material that is still in the game, for example K-733N or the Clipperbots. It is rather informative and, in my opinion, rather interesting to see elements from a direction LEGO Universe chose not to go, even if these elements got recycled into the current game. That's what most of the in-game Pre-Alpha material is: recycled. Dark Ones, Vegan Steven, K-733N... As for the Pre-Alpha material that has been redesigned (Numb Chuck and Jack Knife come to mind), I would think they should be included as well. We do have info on what they were like prior to alpha testing thanks to My LEGO Network and file divers. Just putting in my two cents. --PeabodySam 01:08, April 7, 2011 (UTC) Maybe a new category for Pre-Alpha things that are still in the game? 01:14, April 7, 2011 (UTC) I've given thought to this, and the best conclusion I can come up with is that the distinction will lie between articles that are in both Category:Pre-Alpha and Category:Unreleased versus those who are only in Category:Pre-Alpha. That should create a distinction between info that is exclusively Pre-Alpha (in which case it remains unreleased) and info that was recycled into the current game (in which case it is released). After all, "Category:Pre-Alpha and still in the game" seems like a lengthy category name. --PeabodySam 20:34, April 27, 2011 (UTC) When you stop to think about it, "Pre-Alpha" isn't a totally accurate term. Where do you draw the line between old and new? The original Forbidden Valley remained on the loading screen map for LU until the early beta, as did Pet Ranch. Many Pre-Alpha characters were also used up until beta, and in a few cases, even release (Skee Daddle and Toby Squidbarrel didn't have their pre-alpha character models replaced until after release, and the Pirate Swinger, DJ Studd, and maybe a few others I'm forgetting about still use their old models). While the pre-alpha minifigs use the same actual models as the new ones, the textures are layed out very differently. In all, I've seen... I think 5 minifig texture systems in the LU files. The first is the extremely early minifig model/texture system (with the blocky heads with solid studs and stuff, think the first few trailers that came out). There are only two minifigs like this that I've seen, a guy with black pants, a green shirt, and classic smile face, and a Pirate Captain that looks a tiny bit like Redbeard. Then there is Sergeant Maxx, who uses the new head shape, but a unique texture system. The Sentinel Guard also uses an old texture system that has some elements from Maxx's system, but the body textures are loaded from the shield texture and the head is loaded from another. Then we reach the texture system used for the majority of the old NPCs (like the original Skee Daddle). Everything for the body is in one texture, and the hands and head are in another texture. Then they came up with another texture system which is used to this day - the textures contain everything needed, including the face, but the faces aren't usually used because they replace them with moving facial animations like the ones on players. So, from all those character designs, what counts as "Pre-Alpha"? Many were used throughout the alpha and beta, and a few even into release. The same goes for worlds, the designers didn't sit down one day and say "Hey, we're gonna redesign everything!", it was a gradual process. Worlds were redesigned and altered bit by bit until the playtesters were happy with them. So, the line between what is and isn't Pre-Alpha is really quite blurry. Jamesster.LEGO 21:01, April 27, 2011 (UTC) :From what I understand, we generally define "Pre-Alpha" as anything that was in the game prior to alpha testing. Hence the name. Perhaps a little more specifically, it seems to refer to things that are from the worlds from prior to (but never during or post) alpha testing, such as anything in YouReeka. Pre-Alpha elements that are in the game are defined as elements that survived into the released game, such as K-733N. :Now that you bring him up, I suppose Skee Daddle is a gray area, as his original concept (especially since he was the "Beastie Brick A" in beta testing) was Pre-Alpha but his post-release redesign removes all reference to the Beastie Blocks (since he is now named "Skee Daddle" and does not use his Pre-Alpha model). At least Jack Knife and Numb Chuck still have their names. But you do bring up a point; while characters like DJ Studd or Swinging Pirate use Pre-Alpha models, would they be put in this category (since they might not necessarily Pre-Alpha characters)? Not sure about that. :I believe I know which Redbeard character you're talking about. I really hope to see him in the game one day. And under the name "Roger Redbeard", not "Arrrthur Arrrbuckle" (referencing your first reaction to seeing the Pirate Mechanic in alpha testing). --PeabodySam 21:28, April 27, 2011 (UTC)